DECEMBER 18, 2019

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” 
― Sigmund Freud

JONAH

5Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant^a and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

REVELATION 9

20The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

JOURNAL 

Reading through Jonah it is easy to see how I many times have acted like Jonah. When things don't work out like I want them. When heartache strikes and I don't get my way, there is an anger and bitterness that can begin to surface.

Jonah moping over the plant is really kind of funny but it's also the state of his heart. He has such hatred for Ninevah that he cannot see beyond it. The hatred turns everything bad in his mind. Everything is exacerbated to a level where he is content to die because of a plant. Obviously it is not the plant but just where his heart has gone as a result of his bitterness and disappointment. This is a lesson that any time we let our own plans and our own judgement crowd out God's we are in danger of becoming disillusioned and bitter. 

Today I celebrate 26 years of marriage. You don't go through 26 years without struggle, and difficulty and we have definitely had our share, yet I can say without question that the blessings of my life with Marcella have helped to ease the bitterness and anger that could have easily darkened my heart. I see without a doubt how God blessed me with her strength and love in times when most would have blamed and become bitter. There is no better example of God's spirit than when it exists in the heart of forgiveness and love and I have been blessed in abundance. 

31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

EPHESIANS 4:31-32